Dr. Sang Wu Spotlights Pathology with Children’s Book

Drawing conclusions and making difficult diagnoses from a scramble of cells and puzzling possibilities is what pathologists do.

Thanks to Sang Wu, MD, FCAP, children and their families can chase conclusions of their own while learning more about their health, pathology, and laboratories in the activity book Under the Microscope: Detective Doctors.

A hybrid children’s story, coloring book, and activity book, Under the Microscope teaches children about how pathologists help patients and the rest of the care team by uncovering the mysteries that may cause people to get sick. Dr. Wu came up with the idea while hosting a See, Test & Treat® event. The CAP Foundation program provides free cervical and breast cancer screening and health education to underserved women across the US.

“We noticed that many women would bring their young children with them and were thinking of fun activities for these children,” Dr. Wu said. “We came up with the idea of having an activity book, which can also serve as an introduction to our wonderful medical specialty of pathology.”

Led by a helpful bunny named Parker (illustrated by Kristine Tague), readers take a tour of the process from the gathering of a patient sample to a pathologist’s diagnosis in the laboratory in an easy-to-understand and fun-to-color booklet. Under the Microscope is available to hosts of See, Test & Treat events.

Before his foray into children’s books, Dr. Wu knew the importance of patient and public health education. In 2016, he received the CAP Foundation Gene and Jean Herbek Humanitarian Award recognizing his significant contributions to patient care. He hosted the first-ever See, Test & Treat in Dallas before hosting several much-needed programs in the underserved communities of Irving and Arlington, Texas.

In keeping with the CAP and CAP Foundation’s mission, Dr. Wu wanted pathologists on the front line of patient care in their communities, contributing directly to patient education. Under the Microscope supports that vision.

“Every See, Test & Treat event is a great opportunity to build relationships with the community, and that can include children too,” Dr. Wu said. “Who knows, a child flipping through this book could grow up to become a pathologist someday.”

Dr. Wu plans on using his activity book as a fun, engaging learning tool at future See, Test & Treat events and is working on a Spanish language edition to further the book’s reach and inclusiveness. He looks forward to educating patients and their families while raising the visibility of pathologists—although he’s not sure where this publication fits among the other academic studies on his CV.

“I have shared with my colleagues in academia that this activity book has been my only ‘publication’ in the past decade,” Dr. Wu said with a laugh. “While it is different from the typical scientific journal publication, I am hopeful that a few years down the road, the impact factor will be quite high!”

The CAP Foundation will provide See, Test & Treat host sites with copies of the activity book as part of their patient educational materials. Those not hosting a See, Test & Treat event can make a suggested donation of $25 to receive 10 copies of Under the Microscope: Detective Doctors.